Altadena homeowners who lost their homes in the Eaton Fire face a narrowing window to rebuild, with insurance deadlines approaching and construction costs far outpacing many policyholders’ coverage, according to an attorney and builder who says he has guided hundreds of families through wildfire recovery.
Brian Flahavan, owner, manager and attorney at Synergy Group, which opened a rebuild center in Altadena after the fire, said the biggest mistake he sees homeowners making is not realizing they may have additional insurance money available to them.
“I think the biggest one that I see is that people don’t understand or even know that there may be additional money available to them,” Flahavan said in an interview. “A lot of times they close the door or think that they don’t have the amount of money they need in order to move forward with the rebuild.”
Flahavan said homeowners should have a knowledgeable person review their declarations page and policy to identify all available funds before making decisions. He stressed that accepting an insurer’s initial settlement without independent review can leave significant sums unclaimed, particularly for extended dwelling replacement coverage, which can range from $75,000 to $400,000 depending on the policy.
The distinction between replacement cost value and actual cash value is critical, Flahavan said.
When a homeowner accepts actual cash value instead of pursuing replacement cost, they may forfeit access to extended dwelling replacement coverage — typically 25% of Schedule A or the original dwelling coverage. Homeowners who accept actual cash value and do not pursue replacement costs are “potentially leaving a huge amount of money on the table,” he said.
One recent UCLA study published recently that found only 30% of Altadena homeowners who filed permit applications had actually broken ground as of February. A separate survey found nearly half reported delays in receiving insurance payments. Flahavan said those survey results match what he is seeing on the ground.
Flahavan said navigating the insurance process while preparing for construction is especially challenging for people who have no prior experience with it.
Additional living expenses coverage is another area of urgent concern. Most ALE coverage runs two to three years, Flahavan said, and both the time limit and a monetary cap are factors.
“You got to get moving because you have to understand that to develop plans and get an architect going, that’s going to take months, permitting will take months,” he said.
Flahavan cautioned homeowners about the timeline for rebuilding. Even with a complete set of architectural and engineered plans ready to submit, homeowners should expect roughly 60 days for permit processing, he said. After permits are issued, construction takes at least eight to 10 months with his company, while some builders may take 12 to 14 months.
For those hoping to be back in their homes by the end of 2026, Flahavan said the math is tight. A homeowner would need a complete, clean permit package submitted in May to have any chance, and even then “your best case scenario is you’re probably looking at something like February or March of 2027,” he said.
He added that as more permits are submitted, county offices could become bogged down with permitting and inspections, further extending timelines for those who wait.
On the question of public adjusters, Flahavan urged caution. He said many public adjusters do good work, but others overcharge, particularly, in his experience, those working on contingency fees. He encouraged homeowners who want to use a public adjuster to seek one who charges a flat fee.
Drawing on his experience rebuilding over 200 homes following the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, Flahavan said he could think of only two or three occasions where a public adjuster was necessary.
“For the vast majority of people, especially if they’re going to rebuild, I don’t think a public adjuster is necessary,” he said.
For families whose insurance settlements fall short of full replacement cost, Flahavan said SBA loans are available on favorable terms. He described them as a “no-brainer type option” because the terms are better than anything available on the open market.
He stressed the importance of working with a builder familiar with both insurance and banking processes, noting that mortgage holders often must have funds released through their bank during the rebuild. A builder with back-office support and knowledge of how to paper things correctly with insurance companies and banks can prevent delays that hold up the entire project, he said.
Flahavan advised homeowners with permits in hand to meet with at least two builders and to carefully examine the scope of work and pricing structure before signing a contract. He said his company provides a fixed bid “down to the penny” with no change orders, and he urged homeowners to understand the difference between fixed bids and builders who use allowances with potential change orders.
“You can get down the road halfway through, three quarters of the way through your home and think, ‘I’ve got plenty of money to get this done.’ And all of a sudden you realize, ‘Wait, this wasn’t included in the scope and now I’m getting change orders to add stuff and now I’m running out of money,'” he said.
Flahavan, whose company initially announced a five-year commitment to Altadena, said he now describes it as a seven-year commitment. He said the biggest difference he has seen compared to the Tubbs Fire recovery is the number of underinsured homeowners. Construction costs during the Tubbs Fire era were roughly $250 per square foot, he said, compared to current quotes that can reach the high $300s, $400s, and sometimes $500 per square foot.
“When you get the cost of construction exploding like that over the last seven, eight years, it’s hard for, I think, insurance policies to keep up with that rate,” Flahavan said. “And so now as a result, we see people that don’t have enough coverage to necessarily get them back home.”
He also noted that reaching displaced homeowners with accurate recovery information has been harder in the Los Angeles area than it was in Santa Rosa because of the region’s size. Fire victims are scattered while managing jobs, children and the additional burden of rebuilding, he said.
Synergy Group | Address: Synergy Rebuild Center, 2351 Lincoln Ave, Altadena, CA 91001 | Phone Number: (707) 360-6180 and (626) 949-3596 | Website: https://synergygroup.net
